Chapter 228

Ava

Unbeknownst to Chris, I wasn’t asleep. In fact, I wasn’t even close.

I stood in the doorway, my claws extended and fangs bared at Patrick. My heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through my veins. How did he get in here? What did he want?

“Calm down, Ava,” Patrick said, his hands raised in a placating gesture as his eyes flicked to my claws. “I’m just here to talk, that’s all.”

Despite his gentle tone, there was no way I was about to make the mistake of lowering my guard. “Talk? Last time we met, you were our prisoner. And you escaped.”

Patrick grinned. “I know, and that’s your fault, isn’t it?”

I growled softly at that, although he wasn’t wrong. If I hadn’t insisted on loosening his bonds, then he wouldn’t have escaped at all—and likely wouldn’t have gone back to Olivia to tell her everything. At least, I assumed that that was what he did.

“But things have changed,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I have information you need to hear.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Information?”

“Very useful information.”

I growled again. “Why the hell should I trust you?”

“Because I’m willing to let you tie me up,” he said. “I’ll stay right here while you secure the house. I won’t move an inch.”

He pulled a bundle out of his pocket and tossed it at my feet. I jumped back, hissing, only to relax when I saw what it was: paracord.

I hesitated, then nodded. I quickly snatched up the paracord and unwound it. Just as Patrick promised, he sat perfectly still and obedient as I wrapped the paracord around his body, binding his wrists and ankles to the chair.

Once I was sure he couldn’t escape—not that it seemed like he would try—I went around the house, closing and locking all the windows, snapping the curtains shut, and locking the doors.

Taking an extra precaution, I even slid chairs under the doorknobs. I knew it didn’t really do anything like the movies made it seem, but I figured it would act as a sort of barricade if any of Patrick’s cohorts tried to bash their way in.

Once I was finished, I grabbed a sharp knife from the kitchen and resumed my position in the doorway, careful to angle myself slightly with one foot back in case I needed to run.

“Alright,” I said, glaring at Patrick. “Start talking. What do you want?”

Patrick took a deep breath. “Being captured by you and Chris was actually beneficial for me. My accomplices assumed I was still your prisoner, so I didn’t have to return to them. I initially planned to escape to the human world and leave this mess behind.”

“But?” I prompted, sensing that there was more to the story.

“But when I escaped from the cabin, I had a change of heart,” he explained. “I have more information to share, which I will gladly share with you… In exchange for safety and political immunity.”

I crossed my arms. “That’s a big ask for someone who has been working with a woman who intends to take down Moonstone. What kind of information?”

Patrick leaned forward as much as his bonds would allow. “I know where Olivia is; or at least, her general whereabouts. She has been living in the human world under a fake name.”

“What is it?”

“Amy Angston,” Patrick said easily. “She dyed her hair black and wears colored contacts everywhere. Specifically, brown.”

My eyes widened slightly, taking note of that information for later. “Go on.”

“And that person you and Chris chased in the speedboat? The one that was with Dedrick?” he asked.

“How do you know about that?” I hissed, thinking back to that night.

Patrick shrugged. “I have my sources. But that wasn’t Olivia; that was a lookalike. While you were on your wild goose chase, the real Olivia was still in the human world, gathering allies from all five packs. Mercenaries; people who only want money and power.”

I think he would have gestured to himself as one of those mercenaries had his wrists not been tied.

I felt a chill run down my spine. “So what’s her plan once she gets enough ‘allies’?”

Patrick, seemingly expecting his previous information to not be enough for me, nodded and continued. “The mercenaries will advance on Moonstone, surround it, and take you and Chris hostage. Then Olivia will swoop in and take over, and Chris will be given an impossible choice.”

“What kind of choice?” I demanded.

Patrick’s face paled slightly. “Either give her the rights to Moonstone, or… you’ll be killed with a lethal dose of moonbite.”

I felt sick. We had imagined that it would come to this, but hearing it laid out in front of me, seeing the stony truth in Patrick’s face… It was all too much.

Without thinking, I crossed over to the sofa and sat, the knife falling slack between my fingers.

“What about the blight?” I whispered. “Does Olivia know about that?”

Patrick nodded. “Like I told you before, she’s got a mole in Moonstone, so of course she knows.” He paused, licking his lips. “But I don’t think she knows about your dear friend’s condition.”

I bared my fangs again. “How the hell do you know about that?”

“Because I’ve been following you and overheard the discussions,” Patrick replied matter-of-factly. “It’s actually a good thing she doesn’t know. She has no idea how much of a threat the blight is, how it could evolve and slowly kill everyone here. How much of a risk it poses to everyone. She thinks you’ve got it under control with Chris’s GMO.”

I rose once more and paced the room, trying to process all this information. “How can I trust that you’re telling the truth?”

Patrick’s eyes met mine. “You were kind to me that night Chris captured me. And…” He paused, dropping his gaze to his feet. “I’ve heard the whispers: a ‘True Luna’. I was raised by Omegas, and I know the legend. You bear the signs, Ava.”

I froze, turning to him slowly.

“Olivia could never bring the packs into an age of peace and prosperity,” he said softly before I could speak. “But you’re already well on your way to that. And as long as you promise me the safety and immunity I requested, I vow to do whatever necessary to help you figure out who the mole in Moonstone is, further weakening Olivia’s hold.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly would you do that?” My mind flicked to Elise, to the night that Chris and I had seen her scurrying through the streets in that cloak. Weeks had passed since that night, and Elise had given us no more reasons to suspect her.

“I happen to have an extensive history in spy work,” Patrick explained with a smirk. “Need I repeat how I knew about your dear friend’s lungs? Or should I also mention your talks of a war?”

“Fair enough,” I growled. “So how would you find this mole?”

“It’s easy enough. I can set up surveillance all around Moonstone to find the mole. We could do it quickly and quietly, taking out Olivia’s one inside connection to Moonstone and making her lose a lot of her power.”

I placed my hand on my hip, the knife still in my other hand. This was a lot to take in. If Patrick was telling the truth, we had a chance to get ahead of Olivia’s plans—and clearly, his spy work was quite good. But if he was lying…

“I need time to think about this,” I said finally.

Patrick nodded. “I understand. But we don’t have much time. Olivia’s plans are already in motion.”

“You’re staying here tonight,” I said, grabbing the end of the robe binding him to the chair and beginning to unwrap it.

“Alright. But where, exactly, am I staying?” Patrick asked, quirking an eyebrow as I untied him.

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “I hope you like wine.”

Fifteen minutes later, I locked the door to my wine cellar, where Patrick was secured inside. I had set up a small, makeshift bed down there for him, along with some food and water, and had patted him down—thoroughly—to ensure he had no lockpicking tools or weapons. Although, something in his eyes told me that he genuinely had no intentions of running this time.

I leaned against the door once it was all said and done, my mind whirling.

If Patrick was telling the truth, we were in even more danger than we had realized. But his offer of help could be invaluable. The question was, could we trust him?

I glanced at my phone. There was a missed call from Chris, but it was nearly two in the morning by now, and I knew he was resting before another long day of meetings. I would have to decide what to do on my own, at least for now.

Climbing the stairs back to the main floor, I sank onto the couch, my head in my hands. There was so much to consider, so many potential consequences to weigh. Only one thing was for certain:

Tonight was going to be a very long night.